Sunday, May 18, 2014

Living Beyond Your Capacity, Part 3: Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Many Christians experience a “roller-coaster” up and down spiritual life. This kind of spirituality is described fist-person in Romans 7:19, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”  Explaining how his fellow Christians can break free of this up and down spiritual life and live beyond their capacity he does tell them to work harder or make new resolutions but simply, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

Read Galatians 5:13-26. What phrases in addition to “walk by the Spirit” does Paul use to describe our desired relationship with the Spirit? How is this contrasted with “acts of the flesh”?

What do the following Scriptures reveal about the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian?

John 14:16--

1 Corinthians 3:16--

1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:3-7--

Romans 8:16; 8:26-27--

Ephesians 4:30--

Ephesians 5:18--

Application

Compare Ephesians 5:18-19 with Colossians 3:16. What insights about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word do you gain from these Scriptures? How does this relationship influence the priority you place on spending time daily in the Word?

Memorize This


Ephesians 5:16— So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. NIV

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